


UNQUENCHED OF FLAME

by Grondfic



Category: Dogsbody - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: M/M, Uncategorized fandoms - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-11
Updated: 2010-05-11
Packaged: 2017-10-09 10:02:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grondfic/pseuds/Grondfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two Luminaries seek advice from the Red Giants, Antares and Betelguese, about how to deal with some awkward characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude: In the Hall of Blue Trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The main title comes from the poem _Dog Star Sirius_ by George Meredith  
> 2\. The title of Part 1 comes from a poem by Sherod Santos

**Title: UNQUENCHED OF FLAME  
**  
Fandom: _Dogsbody_ by Diana Wynne Jones  
**Pairings**: Antares/Betelguese, Polaris/Sirius, two unevolved entities, (in this part).  
**Rating**: Sidereal, fiery.  
**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made. It's pure Homage!

* * * *

**Prelude: In the Hall of Blue Trees**

_"S-so he st-till hasn't t-taken a C-companion yet?" asked Polaris uncomfortably._

_Antares, one ruddy finger twined in a curl of Betelguese's crimson hair, brushed a few sparks nonchalantly from his hand. Betelguese raised his head reluctantly from Antares' lap and sat up, blushing almost to fire-shotten obsidian in his self-consciousness._

_Polaris, who had surprised the two canoodling at the foot of the Judgement Seat, wished that the Empyrean would open and swallow him._

_He would have crept away into the blue trees, but they'd seen him first. So then – all he could do was blurt out his own overmastering concern for the newly-returned Denizen of Sirius._

_Fortunately, it appeared that the two Red Giants – flustered in their turn – had taken his query at face-value._

_"The Pearl-Sphere is still empty," confirmed Antares, looking studiously at a far galaxy, just visible beyond the grove._

_"Sirius is lonely. He SHOULD arrange for a new Companion!" rumbled Betelgeuse, "It's not for lack of offers! There'd be minor Luminaries queuing up if he just gave any indication he'd notice them!"_

_"He f-flies off the handle if anyone s-suggests such a th-thing!" said Polaris miserably._

_This brought him under scrutiny from Betelguese, who then exchanged glances with Antares._

_"Well, now – " he said judiciously, "If anyone can get through to Sirius, it's YOU, Polaris! After all, you did all the work in getting that Pearly traitor and her usurping Castor of a Consort removed! If he'll listen to anyone – it'll be you!"_

_"Why don't you … " suggested Antares persuasively, "Go away and console him, eh? He may listen to Sol too ….unhh!"_

_He stopped abruptly as Betelguese's sharp fiery elbow connected to his midriff._

_"Sol is busy with Earth, and its rather intriguingly recalcitrant Child!" announced Betelguese blandly, "Why don't you see what can be done yourself, eh, Polaris? I'm sure he'll listen to you – he's very grateful …. "_

_"B-but he sh-should th-thank you f-fellows, t-too …."_

_"Nonsense!" replied Betelguese decisively, "He has his pride over our part in the trial. And besides .. " he winked at Antares, "He doesn't NEED us! We're a pair already, and can't possibly UNDERSTAND how lonely and miserable he gets …."_

_"M-m-miserable? Oh N-NO! I m-must……. Exc-cuse me, Ef-ffulgencies! ….. "_

_Spreading ice-white wings at their full stretch, Polaris took off hastily._

_The two Red Giants looked at one another._

_"Was that quite FAIR?" asked Antares._

_Betelguese shrugged his massive crimson shoulders, releasing a fluttery titillation of wispy flames from his half-expanded wings._

_"Sirius IS lonely! Polaris is … well, in a fair way to becoming besotted, Ant! So it can't hurt, can it? Take Sirius's mind off that Creature of Earth he keeps mooning over. Besides – " he added lasciviously, "Polaris was distinctly de trop around here, wouldn't you say ……?"_

_"Definitely!" concurred Antares, succumbing instantly._

* * * *

**Part 1: The Dog Days Are Upon Us**

Since his return from Earth, and restoration to his proper sphere of influence, the Denizen of Sirius had generally kept himself busy enough, to prevent himself pining, doglike, for his mortal companion.

He did however find himself, more and more often, checking on the planetary systems within his jurisdiction. His admiration of the works of young Sol made him feel that he had somehow been remiss in developing such worlds, perhaps already teeming with varied life-forms.

Disappointingly, many of his planets had turned out to be little more than barren rocks with barely any music in their spheres; but today he had found one with signs of emergent life.

Sadly the forms most nearly resembled Earthly slugs roiling and squirming in primeval sludge beneath noisome vapours. Sirius was first reminded of a litter of newborn pups, and leaned in for a closer look. However, he soon discovered that what the slugs were doing with, and to, each other was far FAR different and more nauseating than even the most demanding and aggressive of mammalian young.

Disconsolately, he stirred the mass of surrounding vapour with one green-silver finger and watched as the swirls thinned. The slugs were the only life he could see.

"Th-that one –" said a well-known voice at his shoulder, "M-might be d-developing l-limbs and an endo-sk-skeleton! What's in this r-rancid atmosphere th-they're br-breathing?"

Sirius sniffed and tried to remember how he'd arranged things here.

"Methane-phosphorus, I think." he said finally.

"I TH-THOUGHT it s-smelled like an ignited f-fart!"

"An ignited WHAT?"

"R-remember those odd whiffs that Earth-d-dwellers occasionally p-produced?"

Sirius tried to think back. Finally his residual-Dogsbody located a sensory-memory, and he wrinkled his nose.

"Is it really that bad? Anyway – how do YOU know about that, Polaris?"

"V-visited S-Sol recently. H-he's qu-quite f-famous, you know, after your st-stories about Earth! Anyway – " continued Polaris, squinting down again, "Th-that one with v-vestigial l-legs won't evolve f-further! You n-need c-calcium for b-bones; and a g-good r-reason for legs. Those g-gastropods haven't any inc-centive to grow any!"

"I suppose not." agreed Sirius sadly.

"You c-can't r-replicate Earth, you know! It's unique!"

"I KNOW that!" growled Sirius, feeling more doggy and irritated by the minute.

"An i-i-interesting planet!" went on Polaris, apparently oblivious, "B-but the l-life-forms are awfully f-fragile! Y-your host d-died under the p-power of the Z-zoi!"

Dogsbody took over. Sirius raised his silver-green countenance to the Higher Heavens, and howled.

The Music of the Spheres faltered, untwined its celestial harmonies, and sneered a dreadful discord. A number of meteorites shook loose from their settings, and Halley's Comet wobbled in its regular, predestined path.

"St-steady, st-steady!" the well-known voice besought, "Your m-mistress was safe after all!"

"I KNOW that, you idiot! But, she is of EARTH! And I want her HERE in the Sphere of the Companion! I don't know whether such a thing can be! I can't be sure that – when the body .. separates, her Self will be Permitted to ….. "

Sirius stifled another incipient, cosmic, doggy lament.

"I-i-i-it's a-a-alright! S-s-s-she'll hear y-y-you, I'm s-s-sure! P-p-p-p-please, S-S-Sirius, l-let m-me help you n-now! I c-c-c-c-c-can ……. "

Sirius gazed at Polaris in some surprise.

"What's the matter?" he asked, trying to disentangle sense from suddenly-augmented stutter, "And thank you for your kind offer, but there's nothing you CAN do! You know perfectly well how strict Cosmic Law can be!"

"B-bend it a little!" suggested Polaris, subdued.

Sirius shrugged, resigned.

"I can't do anything to subvert a mortal life – any more than I've done already, I mean. Earth belongs to Sol, as he would be quick to remind me!"

"D-does your mistress … owner … friend … know how you feel?"

"Polaris; I was her DOG. Of course she knew I adored her – IN THAT FORM! But that's an Earth-thing. Up here – " he bent and stirred the planet's atmosphere contemplatively, "things are different!"

"So you weren't lovers?"

Sirius emitted a short bark of bitter laughter.

"We loved one another; but we weren't what you'd mean by Lovers, Polaris! And 'loving' one of my own Earthly breed was a brief period of mindless, reproduction-driven madness! It's EARTHY! It's not at all like the loves of Luminaries – all wildfire and Esteem!"

Polaris took a deep breath and spoke, carefully enunciating each word so as to achieve a barely-stuttered declaration.

"I Offer You The Esteem!" he gulped and completed the rest in a rush – "T-t-then m-may-b-b-be th-the w-w-w-w-wild-f-fire w-will ig-ignite of its own ac-c-cord!"

Sirius stared, realising that the pale apricot glow tingeing Polaris' whiteness, was indicative of a deep blush.

"I don't know what to say!" he managed finally.

"D-don't say anything!" suggested Polaris, moving closer.

Sirius hesitated on a complicated quagmire of mortal and sidereal reactions.

However, his wings were already half-spread, the emerald feathers tipped by tiny argent flames. His mane of fiery green hair stirred on his head, emitting silver sparks.

Polaris, watching him in enthralled trepidation, suddenly raised a long blue-white crest from just above his brows almost to his shoulderblades. His eyes burned deep sapphire.

The lovemaking of such high-Effulgencies was intricate, resonant; almost-incorporeal. But not quite.

Grappled chest to cold-burning chest, with Polaris' dazzling white legs locked hard around Sirius' viridian waist, the flames of their Being became mixed; mingling in flares of palest spring-birchleaf and wine-dark seagreen-blue.

Both sets of wings expanded madly, carrying the Conjoined Effulgence out into the limitless depths of star-moted space.

Their double-ecstasy – once achieved – set all the planets in that system singing to an entirely new Harmony ……

* * * *

The planet-surface boiled and glomped like hot mud in Yellowstone, and vapours rose in thin, vertical spirals like stenchful ghosts.

The Little Entity flexed its vestigial limbs under the relentless shower of bluegreenwhitesilver sparks, and achieved a creditable forward-spring.

**Oi! Watch where you're going!**

***You … SPEAK!?***

**Too right, I speak! Show us that flip-thing you do again. It's wicked!**

The Entity obliged, succeeding in landing squarely atop its interlocutor.

**OI!! Steady-on! We've hardly met! Still – compared with all those Squidgy no-brains, you're quite a … change …..!**


	2. Prelude: In the Hall of Blue Trees.

**Title: UNQUENCHED OF FLAME  
**  
Fandom: _Dogsbody_ by Diana Wynne Jones  
**Pairings**: Antares/Betelguese, Sol  
**Rating**: Naughty.  
**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made. It's pure Homage!

* * * *

**Interlude: In the Hall of Blue Trees**

_The two red Giants bellowed in unison, tingeing the Trees a strange and dappled mud-brown. A spiral of thrown sparks cartwheeled across the Judgement Seat, and both Luminaries collapsed._

_"Erm ….. "_

_Antares opened one eye; then shut it tightly against the sudden golden glare._

_"I think there may be another Effulgency present!" he informed his lover languorously._

_"WHAT?"_

_Betelgeuse disentangled his crimson mane from Antares' ruddy grasp and leaped upright.._

_"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT'S YOUR BUSINESS HERE?" he roared, covering his embarrassment with noise._

_"Your pardon, Effulgencies! I am Sol from the Sirius Sector. I came … I came …"_

_"No, WE came!" murmured Betelguese shiftily._

_"Spit it out!" recommended Antares climbing leisurely to his feet and ascending the Judgement Seat, adding to Betelguese - "Come and sit beside me, Sweetness-and-Light!"_

_"I – I have a problem with my Third Planet – the one that hosted Sirius! The Dog Star told me that Earth is protecting a very strange child. In fact this Being was the one concealing the Zoi; and it attempted to make one of the Earthlings use it to the Being's advantage. Sirius says it's 'of the Dark', but that it wants to come out by daylight."_

_"Hmm! By 'dark', what did Sirius mean?"_

_"That's what bothers me, Effulgencies! At some points the description was very like that of a Black Hole – an Absence, so to speak, rather than a Presence!"_

_Both Luminaries shivered in unison._

_"But – " continued Sol, "it only came onto the surface of the Planet during Full Moon – the time of Earth's Satellite's maximum visibility. It appeared as a Shadow, shaped roughly like an Earthling, but with some … anomalies!"_

_"The Absence?" asked Betelguese thoughtfully._

_"Yes, and it was accompanied by a pack of cold-entities. I think those might be Misled Souls of Earth beings!"_

_"This thing sounds," offered Antares, "like an Earthling-O'ertaken! Why did it say it wanted the Zoi?"_

_"To enable it to walk in my light as its ancestors had done, Sirius said."_

_The two Luminaries exchanged glances._

_"Then it WAS an Earthling-O'ertaken! You will have to deal with it, Sol. Beware of its Darkstar component, but you MUST drag it into your light without using a Zoi or any other sidereal means!" declared Betelguese._

_"If it's Darkstar-touched, you will need to play by its Rules!" added Antares._

_"But it was I myself who set up the Rules … " burst out Sol bewilderedly._

_"You think so? Sol – you are a young Luminary. You have a prodigious talent for planet-building; but don't think for a MOMENT that you are above manipulation by Darkstars! Indeed, they will crave the marvel of your works and wish to subvert them – their sole method of Participation! Go back and begin by remembering ALL the Rules you laid on the Dark Children of this Earth. Then – by way of a First Test – you will need to devise a way to meet this Being, under circumstances where neither Darkness nor Light hold the advantage!"_

_"But how ….. ?"_

_"And now - you are becoming _de trop_, Sol!" interrupted Antares, "Be pleased to ponder your solutions elsewhere in the Empyrean!"_

_Sol, with flustered golden flames fussing around his head, bowed low and took himself off._

_"Should we leave such a young Luminary to deal with a Darkstar alone?" fretted Betelguese._

"He'll be FINE! Now, where were we?"

_"Making love in the Hall of Blue Trees. Why are we doing that in such a public area?" asked Betelguese plaintively._

_"To show that High Luminaries may do as they please, of course! And … " added Antares in a rush of honesty, "I love the way the Blue Trees flutter our senses. It adds a pleasant titillation to the whole proceedings …… "_


	3. Part 2: The Hunter Heralds Havoc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The title of Part 2 is from from _Songs of the Oystercatcher_ by Heather Upfield.
> 
> 2\. The ballads that Sol heard and pondered upon are: _Scarborough Fair_, _The Fause Knight upon the Road_, _The Furse Field_, _The Two Magicians_ and - the words that apply specifically to Sol - the final verse of _Lucy Wan_.

**Title: UNQUENCHED OF FLAME  
**  
Fandom: _Dogsbody_ by Diana Wynne Jones  
**Pairings**: Sol, Earth, a folk-club compere, Hunter implied.  
**Rating**: Preliminary  
**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made. It's pure Homage!

* * * *

Sol regarded the pretty blue planet below him with mixed feelings. Sirius had hailed it as a masterpiece; but its very excellence appeared now to have attracted the unwelcome attentions of an Undesirable.

The Rules for Earth's dark creatures concerned – if he recalled rightly – Liminality, Balance, and the dexterity of thought that had evolved from the Earthlings' use of language.

To confront the Dark Being, therefore, he must begin with the things he understood and could best control – Liminality and Balance. He could only trust that he would hold his own during the ensuing wordplay.

But first he had to decide on his method of meeting this Entity. He would begin by speaking to Earth. Earth already had a lot of explaining to do ……

* * * *

"I May NOT interfere." repeated Earth stubbornly.

Sol flared a gaseous eruption from his nostrils.

"And WHAT, may I ask, do you call what you did when Dog-Star Sirius was on your surface?"

"He was a Creature of Earth during his sojourn here," replied Earth smugly, "And therefore under my jurisdiction. You did – after all – uphold that very rule when you protected the child Kathleen from the sidereal consequences of her use of the Zoi. Enabled – may I add – by my unhappy child."

"But that … " Sol was lost for words.

"No one broke the Rules, you know." stated Earth meaningfully.

Sol snorted more sparks.

"I can see," he said finally, "that I need to Experience the workings of these Rules on Earth."

"Well then," said Earth with a snicker, "You should do as the Companion and her Consort did – contain your fires and visit me in Earthling form. You'll gain the most useful information from a strange activity of My Children which appears to be attempting to reproduce (in fragmentary form, naturally) the Music of the Spheres. One tip – remember your polite battle with the Companion; and listen for the Words! It's what My Children do best …… "

* * * *

" …… and a Big Welcome to tonight's Club session, which is a Come-All-Ye! That's a singaround to all you unenlightened proles! And just to make it more interesting, we've THEMED it! So I hope all the Residents have their ballads good and ready, because tonight we're featuring – RIDDLE SONGS!

"Now I'll be opening with probably the best-known of these – thanks to Paul, Art and That Bloody Film ….. "

The young blond hippie-type at the back sat rigid; long denim-clad legs stretched out before him, amber eyes half lidded. He appeared to suppress several slight burps, as the Folk Club Organiser screwed one finger into his left ear and launched into the well-used number.

The audience, well-versed, joined in the refrain –

_"Parsley, Sa-a-age, Rose-merry an' Thyme….."_

* * * *

Sol floated in the near-Empyrean, dazed. Those Earthlings! What had they done? His brain whirled with questions, each more urgent, esoteric and important than the last.

Like - how to reap a peppercorn with a sickle of leather; what to do if you encounter The Fause Knight Upon the Road; what might be meant by _'comin' a-ferrettting when ferretting's in season'_; and what the ultimate fate of The Lady might have been at the hands of the Coal Black Smith.

The final words of the final song still echoed like a benison; the Ultimate Riddle that concerned him personally and would - once learned and recognised – have to be unravelled.

_…. When the Sun and the Moon dance together on the Green  
And that will never be ……_

His first task, however, was to create that neutral space in which two inimical opposites could meet …..

* * *

Sol waited until Earth's Satellite slid quietly into its allotted place. The incipient dawn over Hallstatt and its almost-bottomless lake was halted and became twilight once more.

Total Eclipse!

From behind Moon's all-concealing shadow, he issued his Challenge –

**"My light is quenched even as it rises, unhappy Child of Earth. Stay your dark descent and join The Hunt, wherein Both are the Prey and Both the Predator!"**

The whole Sphere paused, like an indrawn breath; and then, from immeasurably far below – an awareness.

So Sol plunged from his Sphere like an errant spark. The voice of Earth echoed in the rushing wind that smote his ears –

"The longest duration of a Total Eclipse of the sun is seven minutes." it announced pedantically.

"Oh shut up!" said Sol crossly "We'll manage in our own time."

.. and plummeted into the dark depths of the lake …..


	4. Part 3: Transformations. Postlude: The Empyrean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The transformation verses:  
> _Water_ and _Air_ are based on the form of _The Twa Magicians_ (Child Ballad 44); _Fire_ on _Fith Fath_, a Lowland Scots Beltane shape-shifting song; and _Earth_ on _The Furze Field_, an English folk song from the Hammond &amp; Gardiner Collection. As before, Sol's final riddle is taken from the last verse of _Lucy Wan_ (Child Ballad 51).
> 
> ALL these songs are apparently about animals and magic, but in reality they are about - hem hem - Something Else Entirely.

**Title: UNQUENCHED OF FLAME  
**   
Part 3: Transformations, Postlude: The Empyrean  
Fandom: _Dogsbody_ by Diana Wynne Jones  
**Pairings**: Sol/Hunter, Antares/Betelguese (Postlude)  
**Rating**: Competitive, hot.  
**Disclaimer**: The characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made. It's pure Homage!

* * * *

**Part 3: Transformations**

_Then Sol became a carp,_  
_A carp all in the lake,_  
_But Hunter was an otter swift_  
_And caused the fish to quake._

The Otter twitched within its holt, waking to an Imperative Urgency. From beneath a rocky overhang it slid unobtrusively into the wet world; instantly at home.

Before it, a golden spark weaved and blundered; a Prey of familiar Shape but unfamiliar hue. The Otter arrowed through the water in pursuit.

The golden carp fled between huge forests of wavering stuff; a huge and unknown Menace at its filigree tail. The unfamiliar cold of water filled its mouth and gills. Its inadequate fins flicked it hither-and-yon.

Destruction and sharp-shearing snapped at its tail. Desperately it angled upwards to the line where the wet-dark met its meniscus.

Inexorable jaws snapped behind it, as its last-strength leap took it clear through the ambient membrane. Freed, it spread golden wings into the air.

* * * *

_Then Hunter was a bird -_  
_A magpie in the sky;_  
_But Sol became a golden hawk_  
_And after him did fly!_

The Hawk's wide-sight took in all of its world – even through the gloom. It circled at mountain-height, the accustomed cold breeze fluttering its feathers.

It quartered its limitless territory, seeking out the anomaly of Movement at any point from the rocky crests to the water's surface.

There!

Its circling became tight, urgent, purposeful.

Magpie's business, on the other hand, is always mysterious, tricksy and savage. It hops like a cheery pogo-stick, and filches spare baby birds – pink and nest-reived.

Now, beneath the twilight, it was conducting its nefarious business with the sad corpse of a small mammal, until …….

The fluting whine of wind-on-feather was its only warning as Golden Death arrowed in from high above.

The Magpie ducked, dived and shimmied itself from beneath that murderous trajectory. It screamed, its voice like a gravel-slide on a steep slope.

Reaching the precarious safety of a rock-ledge, it turned at bay, grating defiance.

No one was more surprised and terrified than the Magpie, when its open beak cawed forth a jet of living flame …….

* * * *

_Then I'll gang intae a Dragon fair_  
_Wi' sorrow and sighing an' mickle care,_  
_But ye'll become the Phoenix-fire,_  
_An' be reborn frae ilka pyre!_

The Dragon – winging joyously over Drachenwand by Mondsee – was in its own chosen territory here amongst the ragged fells and crags. It raised its blunt snout to the shrouded heavens and sang; blowing harmonic gouts of flame into the darkness.

Above it, the distant stars winked back in acknowledgement.

The great wings, like booming sails, unfurled. The beast – black-spottled emerald –sang its joy into the far-beyond.

Its Being – balanced here between Earth and Sky - was utterly perfect …

Except ….

A stupid, blundering, golden Bird laboured past its very death-dealing nose.

Enraged, the mighty Dragon snorted green flames from distended nostrils. The concentrated jet caught the Bird squarely, and lit it up - transparent to the very filigree of its delicate bones.

A faint scent of burnt cinnamon and primrose accompanied its immolation; and a flame of indescribable colour (red? Orange? Green? Indigo? Gaseous blue?) danced over the blackened corpse.

The Dragon wheeled, bellowing triumph into the heavens.

Beneath it, the small pile of glowing ash, stirred in the breeze. It swirled upwards in transient double-helix. Yellow wings of flame flared to either side; and the body grew ever more solid until the beak gaped open on a sound like bells of fragile glass.

The Phoenix ascended in thin music; swelling with the words of an endless anthem –

_Kill me with fire and I am reborn in flame. You may waste your phosphorene breath until it fails, but you will not end me!_

Seventy-times seven the Dragon rampaged and flared. Seventy-times seven the Phoenix crisped to charcoal, and ascended once more.

At the Seventy-times-seventh-plus-one attempt, the Dragon laid its long jaw along the rock and wept tears of silicon and liquid emerald.

A thin annular of light illuminated the flower-strewn alpine meadow.

* * * *

_I have got a meadow my own dearest jewel_  
_Where all my fine flowers do bloom_  
_And if you're seeking answers when riddling's in season_  
_I'll show you the way to your doom_

The blond hippy, pale hair floating behind him, wandered nude through the mazes of wild flowers, never even allowing one toe of his slender, naked foot to press a single blossom to its parent Earth.

The flute he played was crafted from beams of light. The fire of his music lit the unnatural twilight in a nimbus of sparks around his head.

He attained the clean-scented middle of the meadow; and there paused his tune.

With a goose-wing yipping of red-eared hounds at his heels, the Hunter strode across the grass, raising faint scents as herb and bloom were crushed beneath the stamping rhythm of his coming. He tossed his wild, fawn-stippled curls, bellowing his stag's halloo. The pale dogs gave tongue in response.

"May we – " asked the blond, his mild tones pouring over the meadow like honey, "dispense with these stray lost Earthling souls? Fair's fair, after all. This Riddling lies between the two of us."

"They are part of me!" objected the Hunter.

"But not all! Not the parts that – forgive me – define you. Accretions, merely. And behold - I come unarmed, whereas you wear your full twelve-tined growth of antlers. What have you to fear?"

"You fought unfairly," snarled the Hunter, "And bested me in that last contest without ever a blow struck on your part!"

"Dismiss your attendants," replied Sol with inexorable gentleness, "And we will debate the matter."

The Hunter shrugged, belling forth an order. The white hounds sank silently into the Earth where they stood.

"Now," he began, "Since the Phoenix won unfairly …. "

"Unorthodox methods are not Forbidden in the Rules …. "

" …. SINCE you won unfairly, I say; now I too intend to cheat a little."

"Not cheat!" the blond was shocked, "Merely … move the parameters slightly."

The Hunter grinned, showing white teeth with pronounced canines.

"That too!" he agreed, stalking forward to close the distance between them.

So, it would be wrestling then – like Jacob and the angel. Sol braced himself for the first move.

The Hunter reached, gripped Sol's wrists firmly, and pinned them behind the fair man's back.

Grappled thus chest-to-chest, the two antagonists looked deep into one another's eyes. Then Sol, still restrained, and breathing in warm gasps, shifted his head infinitesimally until his lips met the lobe of the Hunter's ear. His hot breath and rough tongue caressed the outer rim and mobile point. The Hunter could not repress his impulse; and the ear flicked.

Sol chose that very moment to whisper three words, almost silently.

"Wildfire. And Esteem."

The Hunter's antlered head reared back and he loosed Sol's wrists. In the depths of his midnight eyes, Something stirred; and his lips parted on a long sigh.

"Your Form is most beautiful," said Sol comfortingly, "And within I perceive a Duality. A Creature of Earth's Secret Realm, conjoined forever with a Denizen of the Empyrean, whose Star died untold aeons ago."

"Lost!" mourned the Hunter, "Lost within this baby-planet of a Baby-Star. Sphere-less and rootless in Someone else's System!"

"Hush, now. I – Sol, Denizen of this Sphere, See you; recognise you; offer you sanctuary. And will love you, if you wish."

A raucous caw of magpie laughter was loosed into Sol's face.

"Young One! Do you KNOW what you have here in this tidy, pretty little world?"

"A Changeling Child of Earth - who claims you; and the Empyrean - which calls you. A potent and uncomfortable mix. But as Luminary, I offer Wildfire and Esteem; and, since we wear the forms of creatures of this world, and speak in their tongues, I may say this - _if you come a-ferretting when ferretting's in season, my rabbit-warren will take you right down to the bottom. But firstly, with my Rod in my hand, I must plumb the depths of your Fishpond….._"

"So mild; so symbolical," said the Hunter, bitter but resigned, "So douce! And yet so hot."

"There must be an exchange," said Sol, almost pleading now, "A leavening of my Sunfire to your darkness; and then you may walk in my Daylight forever and a day; which was what you asked of the Wielder of the Zoi. This is my offer. Do you agree?"

"Yes!" replied the Entity who was - but was also so much more than - the Hunter.

Sol, relieved and cosmically happy, threw a Catherine-wheel of bright laughter into the twilit air.

Then he stretched forth his left hand and grasped, amidst the froth of dappled hair, the very base of the Hunter's left antler. The Hunter froze into amazed and pleasured quiescence.

Sol's thumb moved along the line between flesh and horn, easily and with unthreatening patience.

The Hunter's eyes closed.

"The very seat where pain-in-pleasure conjoins at the Shed and Regeneration each year!" he whispered.

"The heat drew me." said Sol simply.

A narrow crescent of pale light was moving at the far edge of the meadow as the two lay down together.

By the time the Hunter was squatted like a frog, and teetering with each rhythmic stroke, the light-beam was fuller and broader, edging with gold each blade of grass in its path.

Held upright only by Sol's firm grasp at the base of each antler, the Hunter experienced the Sunfire precisely at the point when balance and tension reached its limit. It crept slyly, and with a comforting warmth, from his belly up the length of his spine, to burst in a silent nova at the base of his skull.

As he bellowed the stag's rutting call, yellow light invaded his cranium, flared within his staring eyes, and danced like mad will o'the wisps at the twelve points of his antlers.

It was only after Sol withdrew, pulling him backwards into a mad tumble on the shining grass, that the Hunter became aware of his still-aroused state, his stag's stiff member still protruding from its enclosing sheath along his belly, unspent.

"My turn now?" asked Sol innocently.

"How did you DO that?" growled the Hunter.

"I was under the impression we did it together." Sol was still guilelessly wide-eyed.

"You won't find me lacking, you trickster." promised the Hunter.

Sol, now stretched face-down on the fragrant grass, looked back over one perfect shoulder.

"I can see that! Then what keeps you?"

With a roar, the Hunter pounced.

* * * *

**Postlude: The Empyrean**

_Hovering rather perilously near to Earth's atmosphere, Antares and Betelguese (twined closely together for safety), watched as the sun rose - belatedly but fully - over the Halstätter See._

_Two tiny figures rose hastily from the shining grass below them and appeared to become embroiled in a heated debate._

_"Wonder what's bugging them now?" said Antares, "I'd have thought they'd both be pleased with the outcome of that little contest."_

_"The Hunter's Earthling part is frightened of the light, I expect," guessed Betelguese sagely, "And Sol is still bemused by his first halfway-Luminary pairing."_

_"Let's see if we can get close enough to hear."_

_"Yes, but try not to burn Sol's sphere!"_

_Antares hastily contained his heat, and the pair drifted closer; peering over the crest of the mountains._

* * * *

"Nothing so very terrible about my daylight, after all, is there?"

"N-no. I can't bring the Hounds out here, though!"

"Let them free. They were once Earthlings. They need to go Elsewhere."

"Hmm. I may, or I may not. That's for me to say! When shall I see you again?"

"Are you bargaining with me, lover?"

"I … might be."

"Then I shall give you the last riddle I learned and when you have riddled it, THEN we may meet again - _when the Sun and the Moon dance together on the Green_."

"And that will never be!"

"Every riddle has an answer. When you have fathomed it, be it as deep as this water here, I shall know, and come down to you. Think well, lover!"

* * * *

_Antares wrinkled his ruddy brow. _

_"I don't see that one at all!" he confessed._

_Betelguese peered over his mountain, careful to avoid the notice of Sol, who was now hovering over the dark green waters far below him. He was back in his Luminary aspect, his spread wings glowing with renewal and wellbeing. Faint, attractive bursts of dark sunspots now freckled his high cheekbones and adorned his hair._

_The crimson Giant look a careful bearing and looked down too. Suddenly he shot upwards into the high heavens, so stifled with laughter that he shook all over._

_"Hey! Steady on!" Antares protested as he too was dragged skywards in a series of bone-shattering bumps._

_"S-s-sorry! Hehehe … no. I've stopped now – really … hahaha .. sorrysorrysorry. It was SUCH a clever ruse, and the answer was right there in front of the Dark One's toes, too. That Sol! We must invite him into the Higher Ranks of Luminaries. Youth and cunning are always useful, Ant."_

_"Yes, but what did he DO?" asked Antares impatiently._

_"You didn't see? That lake – it's so deep that the Earthlings thereabouts believe it goes into the Dark Regions. And the mountains ring it about just as high again above. So if you look into its dancing green surface at noontide, you'll see the reflection of Sun, Moon and Stars, all together. He dropped the Dark One a clanging hint too, with his fathoming it out. Genius!"_

_Antares sniffed a trifle disdainfully._

_"A bit clever-clever. And definitely an Earthling mode of tricksy thinking. He'll be claiming all the credit for Earth, I shouldn't wonder."_

_"He's every right to!" averred Betelguese stoutly._


End file.
